Arson continues; more forces sent

DARJEELING: Aniket Chhetri, the driver of a Sikkim-bound truck, was severely injured when suspected Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters set the vehicle on fire on National Highway 10 at Setijora, about 37km from Kalimpong, on Monday afternoon.

The incident, along with a few others reported from the Darjeeling hill region since late Sunday, marked the ongoing agitation in demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

“Chhetri was taking bricks from Kalimpong to Sikkim. The vehicle was severely damaged and he sustained more than 70% burns,” said Ajit Yadav, superintendent of police, Kalimpong. Chhetri was taken to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri.

Some local people alleged that troublemakers had also hurled petrol bombs at the truck. Four others, travelling in the same truck, sustained injuries as well.

During the day, another truck was set on fire at Kalijora, about 30km from Siliguri. But there was no report of anyone sustaining injuries in this incident.

At Kalimpong, a police vehicle was damaged by GJM supporters and an abandoned police outpost set on fire around midnight on Sunday in the Goiribus area of the district.

In a new political development, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, leader of the Jan Andolan Party (JAP), said he would attend the all-party meeting on the Gorkhaland issue on Tuesday. JAP stayed away from a similar meeting held before fresh agitations started. On Monday, the hills were relatively calm, with GJM supporters staging rallies at Mirik, Kalimpong and Darjeeling. Effigies of chief minister Mamata Banerjee were also burned in Darjeeling and Mirik.